


Prayagraj

by Komorebiwalk



Category: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Commoner meets royal, Fate, Flashbacks, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24928351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komorebiwalk/pseuds/Komorebiwalk
Summary: Prayagraj, the heart of all sacred places, not only bears the great confluence of the great rivers but also has remained as a city of converging zone of different religions, beliefs. It has been renowned as one of those places having the boon of the golden era in history. It has remained as an emblem of acceptance, unity in diversity...where destinies meet...
Relationships: Kartik Singh/Aman Tripathi
Comments: 23
Kudos: 21





	1. Destiny meets destiny

"Lord... We have arrived"

-"Hmm...?"

-"Pardon me, Lord, for my interruption. We are in our destination"

He stretched his visions to the horizon. The far the eyes can see, the deep the mind can speculate. The core heart of all sacred places. The destination of numerous devotees and pilgrims who offer their souls to reach the moksh.  
He chanted :

" Devi sureswari bhagabati gange  
tribhuvantarini taraltarange..."

He took some holy water embellished with the rays of descending sun.

"A quick second visit to Triveni, isn't it?", the question aired with a gentle laugh.

" Ji Rajan ", he replied with a tender smile.

Just one day... How can fate bring so many changes at once!... That no so pleasant remembrance...who would ever know that a seeming misfortune like this would bring this kind of consequences...

" We just shouldn't bring this thing to Lord", the soldier said, " We must have taken the garments...they seemed a bit sellable for me...and then-", he whispered, "should have left him to Mother Ganga and he would have found his moksh!"

-" Right you are!...", another one encouraged him. They were planning many vicious thins. Meanwhile, a voice worth to be called roar was heard-

"What are you doing here, bastards!"

The soldiers shuddered and quickly replied,  
"We are on our duty, sir!"  
There were three of them. One of them was utterly talkative. With a flow, he confessed everything about their recent discussion.  
The other soldiers didn't get enough time to calm their companion's idiocy down. The general smacked their head altogether and said-  
"You little scoundrels! Shut your mouth up and go back to your walk or else I will take the responsibility to skin all of you and drown your bodies into the river!"  
The general left giving them a death stare and ordered them to take the hostage before the Lord half an hour later.  
After he left their rage fell upon the poor hostage. " You bloody rascal!", one of them kicked him. He fell over the ground with his hands tightened with a rope behind his back, eyes covered with a band. Others swore unalterable words and there was a swelling intention in their minds to beat him up. One them suggested-  
"Just skin him to death!"  
-" Don't beat him up more. It may cause trouble for us."  
The others were too raged to calm down. After a while one of them said,  
"Alright!", giving a second kick to the hostage. They laughed and passed more swears to him.

Half an hour later, those soldiers had been waiting outside the tent, speculating what punishment this hostage would possibly get.  
-" He will surely be hung", one said.  
-"No, I think he is a spy form neighbouring kingdom. He will be beaten first to take out information, I presume."  
-"Can't he talk?" I haven't heard him utter a word."  
-"Who knows?!"  
The order came to bring the hostage to the tent. The soldiers brought him in.  
The tent was illuminated beautifully. Several water-jars with delicate designs were spreading the fragrance of flowers. The small yet charmingly organised tent indeed bore the taste of royalty.

The hostage was feeling so dizzy. Anyhow he was dragged to a certain place. He had lost the strength to open his eyelids. Just depending on his auditory cues, he perceived being in the midst of a gathering.  
The soldiers bowed, "Your Majesty."  
The hostage could only feel voices rambling in his half-conscious mind. He couldn't stand more. He fell on the ground out of consciousness. The only thing he could hear before fainting, a voice saying-  
"What's your name?"...

-" How are you feeling now?"  
-"Well, your Majesty", he replied," Your kindness saved my life." The man in front of him had given him food and water at a critical time otherwise his life would come to an end.  
" Whoever you are", the man said," Speak off everything about your identity. How did you come to this region? What's your name? You are sure-"

-" Your Majesty!", people present there screamed. Before the custody could begin something unexpected happened all of a sudden. The hostage could only saw the man of great valour falling upon in front of him.  
Meanwhile, he was captivated again. He could saw the general and the other man seeming a high ranking official becoming so concerned about his condition.

-"Call the doctor!", the official nearly screamed while checking his pulse.  
-"But sir, it will take more than five hours to fetch a doctor nearby", the general answered.  
" Oh, Lord Shankar! Please save him", he murmured, " Take the hostage out for now", he said pointing at him.  
The soldiers were so prepared to take him out but he suddenly declared,  
" I have some knowledge about medical herbs. If you kindly let me examine him, I think I will be able to help-"

-"Shut up!", one of the soldiers shouted. "Let's get this thing out of here", another said.

The hostage suddenly became the centre of attention. The general said to the official in a low voice,  
" Sir, I think we should let him."  
-"But-"  
-"Pardon me, sir, I know very well that we know nothing about him, but considering this situation...if he can help us out...we may take the risk for our Majesty".  
The official kept silence for a moment. Endeavouring all the possibilities from the worst to good...then he ordered,  
"Bring him in".  
-" Bring the hostage here", the general commanded. The puzzled soldiers brought the hostage back. The general consulted something quickly with the official in a whispering tone and then heading near to the hostage, he said,  
"We are letting you in. Any kind of assistance you may need, I will ensure. But embed it to your head - if our Majesty show any sign of getting worse, you will be beheaded at once..."

So, he started examining. First, he noticed a bandage on his right arm, not bearing the mark of the work of a practised medical man.  
-"What's this wound?"  
-"An arrow ", one said," It was barely able to hit him but left a slight scratch-"  
He loosened the bandage. Examined for sometimes and then ordered to fetch some things, bit peculiar for medical usage. But his words were obeyed.  
Around half an hour took him to open his eyes.  
-" Oh lord, Shiva! you saved him!", the official exclaimed.  
-" We should have taken more precautions..."

The hostage heard that the official and general along with their Majesty had gone for an inspection to the marginal regions where had been some unusual disturbance they were informed of. They surveyed the place and got nothing. Suddenly, from the nearby forest, an arrow appeared and left the scratch on his arm. No illness was felt that time so they didn't take any precaution... Moreover, the sun was setting, it had been a matter of risk to explore more then...

"So", the man said in a pleasant voice," You saved my life. I feel pity for the hurdle you have to endure until now."

No one else uttered a word.

" I am greatly pleased with your service. I, Kartik Varman, first Yuvraj of Kanyakubja, will surely give you the price you are worthy of receiving for saving my life. But first of all, I want to be a bit clear about my life saver's identity. So...what's your name?"

-" Amanendra Narayan".


	2. The past unfolds

Kartik Varman smiled tenderly. His smile left something to Amanendra Narayan. He felt that the God is so merciful for sending him to save this man's life...

what has he done these days?...has he done any good for his close one's?... how is his gurudev now?...his friends?...are they even alive?...has he fled from his motherland like a coward?...like a good for nothing...?...

But after saving this man's life, he got back his mental strength a little. 

Yuvraj...Yuvraj of Kanyakubja!... He wondered if he should call this tragedy of good luck?!... The circumstances obliged him to escape his own country and fate brought him to Prayagraj!...

The story takes place in classical India around 559 CE when the Maukhari dynasty had the sovereign power and ruled over a huge region of north-eastern India. We have heard about the great Gupta Empire as well as the great Harshavardhana of Vardhana dynasty ...but I think, little do we know about that dynasty that made a clear linkage between ancient and classical India... the Maukharies... So let's turn the chapters back...

In 320 AD the great Chandragupta, the third king of Gupta dynasty, ascended the royal throne and began conquering neighbouring countries and set up a great empire. He didn't rule for more than ten years himself but had sown the seed of an indomitable dynasty that ruled over centuries. Samudragupta, Ramagupta further spread their monarchy but at the era of Chandragupta the II, the sovereignty reached to it's zenith. His successor established Nalanda mahabihar. The great Hindu kings never treated another religion in a biased way. There was an extraordinary religious harmony among the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. Women were not compelled to remain behind the purdah, they were not held back from getting proper education. Prosperity in the lives of commoners, their tastes in aesthetic sensibilities, fine arts, literature...and spiritual harmony...everything bore the sign of the Golden era...  
But the empire started anticipating a tremble from the time of Purugupta. Skandhagupta recovered some of the regions with his valour but soon he had realised that a downfall was imminent. His apprehension turned into reality during Vishnugupta's reign. The great empire collapsed.  
The vassals who served the previous emperors soon ascended the throne. The history of Maukhari dynasty began... Though it's a matter of controversy among historians that who was the first ever ruler of this dynasty , Maharajadhiraj Ishana Varman was one of the renowned monarchs ever mentioned as early rulers of this dynasty. 

Maukhari king Ishana Varman had two sons. Kartik Varman and Sharva Varman. Their Yuvraj-Abhishek ceremony had been celebrated a month ago but according to the astrological predictions, the proper time for the Rajyabhishek got postponed to next auspicious time, sixteen months after the previous ceremony. Ishana Varman wanted this sixteen months to pass soon. He had an intention to spend rest of his life in Prayag after crowning his first son, Kartik Varman.

He was informed of some disturbances near the mahatirtha Prayag and sent his sons along with Senapati and Mahamantri. The two Yuvraj were split into two groups and Yuvraj Sharva shifted to the northern part of the region while Yuvraj Kartik headed to the southern part. Then how they ended up with a bit futile effort, how that arrow left a poisonous scratch on Kartik Varman and how Yuvraj got recovery...we have learned these earlier.

Kartik Varman ordered a servant. The servant brought a little red bag made of silk. Kartik Varman took a dinar from the bag and handed it over to Amanendra Narayan. Amanendra Narayan bowed before Yuvraj. Then Kartik Varman asked,  
"Now, tell me how did you come to this region? Form where did you come?"  
-" Rajan, I have come from the southern part of Magadha".  
-"Hmm...I deduced that before...you were speaking Magadhi-Prakrit ...give me further information".

Amanendra bent his head down. One by one he depicted everything. How the matsyanaya came as a curse to them and many poor villagers were tortured and beaten. Dacoits came to loot and the common lives were in stark uncertainty. But the Gupta ruler just kept watching the whole occurrence without taking proper action. One day he was obliged to flee from his country chased by a group of dacoits...he arrived at the province of Magadha and was imprisoned by the troops of Kumargupta. They intended to drag him to the northern province to Kumargupta for his custody but fortunately(?) he drowned into the river and anyhow managed to come to the Prayag with the favourable current.

When at last, he succeeded to drag his body to the bank of the river, the sun had already been set. Then he got captivated for the second time by the soldiers of Kanyakubja...

Kartik Varman kept silence for sometimes. Then he questioned again,  
"So, what do you want to do now?"  
-"Rajan?"  
-"Do you want to live in Kanyakubja?... don't be afraid... I can assure you that you won't be captivated this time".  
Amanendra Narayan again bowed his head before him. In a thankful voice, he said,  
" Rajan, I have nowhere to go right now. If you let me live in your kingdom, I will be so fortunate".  
-"Good. But tell me one thing. Where did you get your medical knowledge from? It's really admirable".  
Amanendra Narayan told that he had learnt everything from a person whom he had known as his Gurudev from his childhood. He had lived with him for he had neither of his parents alive to take care of him.

" Hm...I suggest that you should come to the capital with us. I think it won't be a hurdle to find a place to reside there", Yuvraj said.

" At your mercy, Rajan!"

-" Good... I think I am tired now-"

-" Pardon me, Rajan", Amanendra Narayan interrupted, " Before the arrival of Rajvaidya, I beg you to kindly let me look after your health. The poison may cause some effects afterwards...and it will need immediate antidote if something bad happens again".

Yuvraj, Mahamantri and Senapati quickly made glances to each other. Then Kartik Varman said,  
" Everyone is exhausted after today's hurdles...now it's the time for dinner. Further decisions will be taken afterwards. Your proposal is a matter of consultation...".

" What on earth did just happen! I can't believe it!", one soldier exclaimed.  
" That beggar got a gold coin!", another tried to speculate the delicate design carved on the coin.  
" Moreover...he became someone a bit significant to Yuvraj...", one sighed.  
Their speculations continued.

Meanwhile, there was a discussion going on among those three noble men.

-" Yuvraj, should we lock him up after returning to the capital?"  
" No , Senapati, if he is a spy in disguise...we should keep an eye on him. If he is not, still, we should take out more information about Kumargupta's expedition he mentioned..."

-" I have got some secret information that Kumargupta has taken his father's task...he has begun military expedition to south-western Bengal... I have been informed of it earlier..but if he has commanded his troops to make an expedition to the northern part...it's a matter appearing to be alarming".

-" You should gather more detailed information about this, Senapati".

-" I will, Mahamantri"

After a while Senapati said, 

" The messenger has already been sent to the capital to bring Rajvaidya...but it may take more than six hours, I presume".

" For this night", Mahamantri said, "thinking over your Majesty's health... I think we should appoint him...Disregarding other worse possibilities..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Maukharies were the post Gupta ( Chandragupta's dynasty) rulers who ruled over the northern part of classical India and their capital remained Kannauj (Kanyakubja) for centuries. On the other hand, another post Gupta dynasty named "Later Gupta" ruled over eastern part and their capital was Magadha. The later Guptas and Maukharies were contemporary. The expedition of Kumar gupta mentioned here is the expedition of a monarch from later gupta dynasty not the last king of the great Gupta dynasty. There is no linkage between these two dynasties.
> 
> ( It's my first try to write any fanfiction that felt quite a historical fiction to me... I need to avoid unwilling mistakes and bring more accuracy and maturity in my writings...)
> 
> If you guys feel any confusion or find any other mistakes in this work, feel free to comment below! :D
> 
> I will update next chap soon.❤️


	3. Crepuscular Doubt

Nisha, tritiya prahar...

Kushavas' screech cut through the night sky as they chanted soul-devouring spells to summon the evil god of hunt. The strong gushes of wind howled forming gyration in the dark space, wrenching the begrudged vengeful souls out of inferno. 

The tents shook as they passed by groaning, crushing their vexed thirst into their eldritch existence. 

The lives in the tent had gone to sleep peacefully after the day's hard toil. But there remained two pairs of eyelids yet to be met, not congesting the view for necessary observations. Two eyes, not reflecting the possible frailness...not aware of being admired by other two.

Kartik Varman took the melted, fragranced wax in his fingertips. He couldn't totally figure the scent out for the air was predominant with a mixed aroma of plenteous herbs, wax and flowers. Though the number of candles that had been removed by the instructions of ' the physician' was enough, the aromas still lingered. 

" Will I be okay soon, _vaid?",_ Kartik Varman interrogated. 

Amanendra, on the other hand, being totally unable to catch the sarcastic tone in his interrogation, rather gave a plain explanation, " Though the pale bluish tone the skin had acquired is now gone, the poison is still there. As the statistics implies, the bruise shows an alarming sign of reiteration. If the symptoms recur I, would be left with one method-"

" What?", the later asked quite simply.

" I had to cut the portion and it might involve blood-"

" You physicians are all same. Scaring your patients out even before doing anything...is not something you should do often".

So, Amanendra didn't waste a moment and gathering the vital ingredients, he began. He put a towel soaked in cold water under his hand. The process of disinfecting the adjacent areas was soon done with the herbal leaves he had left to drench for few hours, predicting this situation might come. Before taking the equipment in his hand he again glanced at yuvraj. What he got was a quiet nod.

He took a quick look at his patient's face when the sharp edge of his surgical blade penetrated through his skin, tainting itself with royal blood. Amanendra found himself spellbound. He might have looked for a second or less but the light smile and warmth his face bore when his flesh was being lacerated throughout the session did nothing but deeply echoed the first admiration in his heart for an unknown man, a man belonging to a foreign country...far far away from his motherland...

" Irritation in eyes? Stay away from the fume...I might suggest...", Kartik Varman said as he broke into Amanendra's reverie. He was now looking at his hand that had been bandaged few moments ago. Amanendra made a glance to his hand while cleaning the table with a warm piece of towel. The scar on his hand...felt like a scratch upon a petal of a lotus...full of elegance...

He didnt blink for some seconds to let the sudden moist in his eyes dry. 

Now, Amanendra got time for himself. He was so focused to serve him that he nearly forgot...nearly forgot that there were still chances for him to be a hostage and thrown in front of a executioner. He had heard that the Maukharies had their supreme powers over their regions for nearly three centuries. And this time, when the rumors of neighbouring kingdoms intriguing to make expeditions had been spread like wildfire, being caught as a foreigner hostage from a province area...is something a commoner would fear more than a hungry beast. 

...because a man can fight against a beast but not against a mass who mark him as a ' spy' or a potential threat to their country.

No one knows how many headless corpses, brutally slaughtered bodies of fate-forbidden commoners like him had tinged the gushes of Ganga...even the flowing water of Ganga herself will stay aphonic if you ask her. 

When the absolute fate of him could have been death penalty, the fact that he was still breathing was something they call ' miracle'.

" You like poems?", Yuvraj asked still trying to figure the knot out. 

Amanendra being unable to control the transit path of his thinking sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds. He needed some moment to cut off his thoughts to get back to reality.

" Rajan?", he could only utter.

" I have heard that people of Bangal province are more likely to be skilled elocutionists", he smirked.

" I have never heard that before", Amanendra answered quite simply. There was no other implications.

He didn't noticed that yuvraj did have a hard time to control his laughter after hearing his statement.

" But you are an exception, I must say".

Kartik Varman looked at him and this time he lost it. Amanendra felt startled as the man in front of him bursted with laughter. 

" Forget it ", the nobel man huffed," Tell me about this knot. It feels kind of different than before", Kartik Varman expressed his keen interest as he stared at him with questioning eyes. 

" Yes, my lord, not only the knot but the proce-"

The room got it's silence back all of a sudden. The last part of the camphor that was added to the lamp released a little noise as it burnt totally into ashes. 

" Shh...you talk too loud"

Kartik Varman slowly took his fingers away from his lips.

The way he said every word... delaying, whispering... Amanendra found this to be the reason of the mild tremor he felt all through out his body. 

The next moment, Amanendra gulped and only said feebly,

"...Rajan?"

Kartik Varman was there streaching his hand towards him and there was a kava in between his fingers. His face resembled the dark clouds of sheer dissatisfaction. Amanendra couldn't think of any possible explanation for this sudden change of mood. Kartik Varman just moved his head a bit, clearly indicating to take it. Amanendra stood up as Kartik Varman fixed his cold intimidating glare to the flickering flame.

No sooner had he reached the doorway , he nearly collided with a soldier there.

" Hand it over to him", a commanding voice, low but deep came from the room.

The kava leaf with a piece of areca pierced over it was handed over to him. The soldier's eyes nearly popped out in fear and he flew as if he would possibly get his head severed for wasting more moments staying there.

" Return"

He walked back like a manipulated doll and taking his seat he begged for pardon.

" Do people of Bangal also have an inclination to apologize often?", Kartik Varman asked raising one of his eyebrows. Normal tone in his voice was restored. Moreover there was an essence of amusement he intentionally put to assure him that he was not mad at him at all.

" Pardon, your majesty-"

Kartik Varman sighed with a little smile.

The rest of night yuvraj told multiple stories diving into his childhood memories. Whenever his companion would show sign of feeling drowsy, his eagerness to narrate stories would double. The whole night passed as these two remained awake, conversating when the former took the lead most of the time.

Gradually the sun arose. The dawn-birds gave declaration of the arrival of a new day with their melodies as the sangam welcomed the first rays of divakar.

" I remember when I was 15 years old, I had met a person who came from Bangal, for the first time. I was camouflaged as a trader's son and let him read my palm...just for fun. But that time I didn't know that he was a renowned fourtune teller. You know what he said-"

Kartik Varman stopped as he expected eagerness from his listener. Amanendra there, leaning his head near to the window, was sleeping. The first rays of sun illuminated his face a bit. The gentle breeze coming from Ganga was patting his head like mother. Kartik Varman's dark eyes halted to that scene. He was neither a poet nor a literature enthusiast. But staring at that absolute sight, just one thing buzzed in his head,

' _Innocent like a new-drawn pearl'_

He got up on the bed. He rested his head on his shoulder gradually encircling his hand around his torso. He murmured,

" Sorry...pardon me for keeping you awake for all night. I knew you needed sleep. You needed it even more than I did. I felt cruel. But I had to. If anyone of us would sleep...it could have been the longest sleep you had ever slept.." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In ancient times, giving Kava to a guest meant to ' bid bye'. Here Maukhari yuvraj sent a Kava for the soldier even before he could enter the room. That means that Kartik Varman didn't want any third person's presence invading their privacy ( ;)). Whereas arecas are still used to enhance the flavour of Kava, a piece of it pierced directly over the top layer meant the sender didn't want to meet any visitor at that moment and the visitor should leave without causing further interruptions.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to change the names for it's a Royalty AU....hope you liked their names...I will update next chap very soon :D


End file.
